A Bluebird's Tale
by KMD88
Summary: Jessica Baley lived in Storybrooke with memories of a distant life. Her concerns focused on what it meant becoming an adult. With uncertainty in her future she passed her days working at Mr. Gold's shop. One day, Killian Jones and Henry Mills return a seemingly harmless childrens game. Misfortune falls upon them and they are taken inside, trapped unless they can beat the game.
1. Chapter One: Something Sweet

**Chapter One**

Something Sweet

"And, when you've finished sorting those vials you can leave early, deary." Mr. Gold leaned over the glass counter, his faded brown hair tucked behind his ear fell in front of his pointed nose. He plucked it back with a long, bony finger and flashed a gold tooth. "I know how hard you've been studying lately."

Jessica returned the smile her boss had given her-though she felt hers was less malicious-and thanked him. He waved his hand, a large brass ring gleamed under the dusty light. With cane in hand Mr. Gold hobbled into the back room where no one else was ever allowed. Jessica often found herself wondering as she sat on the dirt-ridden floor of_ Mr. Gold's Pawnbroker & Antiques_ what laid beyond the blue, velvet curtain but she never dared to find out.

Mr. Gold was a man you wouldn't want to cross. He might have been a thin man, not very tall with the use of cane to help him walk but he was as dangerous as they came. If not more.

Jessica turned her mind from the back room when the door jingled and someone entered. Stretching her arms, Jessica stood up tall, popping up from behind the counter and set the small, dusty vile aside. She smiled wide, ready to greet the customer when she recognized the boy who had entered from school.

Henry Mills was the adopted son of the Mayor and the biological son of the sheriff. His family tree, as far as Jessica knew, got a little complicated and she didn't know much more about him other than that. They never really talked to one another. Henry ran with a different crowd at school.

He was tall and gangly with hazel eyes and dark brown hair that he kept simple by brushing to the side. Like most boys in Storybrooke he wore plain black sneakers and jeans with a white tee poking out from his dark green hoodie. He hitched his thumb under the strap of his backpack and smiled at her.

"Hey Jess," he greeted, looking around the shop. "Is my grandpa here?"

She nodded and turned to face the curtain. "Mr. Gold?"

"Yes," he snapped, his voice muffled. "I am busy, what is it?"

Uncertain Jessica hesitated and tucked a strand of long, amber hair behind her ear. "Henry is here to see you."

Within seconds Mr. Gold exited from behind the curtain, smiling wide at his grandson. He directed a look at the viles on the floor and Jessica promptly dropped to her knees to finish dusting them off. From there she overheard a lot of conversations she wasn't supposed to overhear.

Though the conversations between Henry and Mr. Gold was nothing of interest. He asked about school and driving lessons and Henry responded with a quick fine. They turned their talk to other things before Henry finally got around to the heart of why he was there.

"I promised I'd babysit but I don't really have anything age appropriate for a kid. Do you have something that, oh I don't know, would keep them entertained?" He paused then quickly added, "Nothing cursed, of course."

"Of course," repeated Mr. Gold. Jessica didn't need to see his face to know he was smiling. "I have just the thing," he claimed walking around the counter, his fingers gliding over the glass.

Jessica scrambled out of his way, pressing her back up against the wall. Mr. Gold hobbled past her, humming to himself as he stopped along a bookshelf and flicked his eyes back and forth in search of its contents. He made an ah ha and grabbed for a large, white box that clattered the pieces inside as he walked back to Henry.

Henry took the box from his hands and smiled. He brought his gaze down to the contents in his hands and frowned. Henry looked back up at Mr. Gold, arching his brow. "Candyland?"

"Candyland!" he exclaimed with a thrust of his arm. "Great fun for the whole family. It'll be great for the kiddos."

"Jeez, Gramps," he groaned. "Don't you have anything a little cooler?"

"Oh nonsense," Mr. Gold cried. "This game is a classic, every child should play it."

"Thanks," Henry said shaking the game in his hand so that the pieces hit the top of the box. "I'll return it tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow then, my boy," waved Mr. Gold.

Henry waved back, pushing his side against the glass swinging door. He nodded to Jess. "See ya."

Mr. Gold spun around, clapping his hands loudly together. "Well, those vials aren't going to clean themselves."

* * *

Later that night Jessica left Mr. Gold's shop and her stomach began to grumble. She grabbed at her shirt and tugged it down as she crossed the street and made her way to Granny's Diner. The smell of hamburgers and burnt meat wafted in the air the closer she got. Dishes clattered against one another in the air and voices cheerfully followed after. It was a busy night.

She stepped inside, loosening the scarf around her neck. It hung loose while her fingers nimbly worked at the wooden toggles of her jacket. It felt much warmer inside than she expected. Removing her scarf completely she tucked it into the pocket of her backpack and took a seat inside a small booth farthest from the door.

"Oh hey Jess," smiled Ruby, her freshly painted nails attached to her hip. "What can I get for you tonight?" She arched a thick, finely plucked brow high. "Cheeseburger, extra pickles with fries on the side?"

Jessica smiled and Ruby beamed. "Great, I'll be back with your root beer sweetie." She patted Jessica's shoulder and walked off to greet David and Mary Margaret as they started to sit.

Slouching into the booth Jess pulled out her cellphone and got on Facebook. She scrolled along the endless newsfeed -with what she imagined to look like the facial expression of Jabba the Hutt-until Ruby returned with her bottle of root beer and a red and white straw that poked out from the top. Instantly Jessica sat up and smiled in gratitude sticking the straw between her lips and sipping on her frothy beverage.

"It's really hard for me to decide, ya know?" Jessica glanced up to see twins, Nicholas and Ava walking toward the empty booth in front of her. She sank in her seat as Nicholas slid into his seat and continued talking in a quieter tone. "I want to get out of here, make something of myself."

"But if you cross the border you'll lose all your memories and go back to the way we were before." Jessica saw Ava toss back one of her long, blonde braids over her shoulder. "Do you really want that?"

"It's not like I'm going to forget who you and dad are," he sighed and Jess had a feeling that they had this conversation before. "I just won't remember my..." he paused and shrugged just as Ruby sauntered over, fixing her brown ponytail and carrying a notepad in between her lips.

Jessica returned to tending to her half-full soda. She twisted the straw around her tongue, clenching down on the plastic and sucking hard at the sugary goodness. It burned her throat but she welcomed it, satisfied.

Nicholas and Ava soon turned their conversation elsewhere but Jess knew the concerns Nicholas had well. She too often dreamed of leaving Storybrooke and traveling to other places but it wasn't exactly easy to leave. Leaving meant having your entire life changed.

Storybrooke wasn't exactly like other towns. The citizens were far more different than other people. Everyone in Storybrooke had once lived ordinary lives but when the Mayor, Regina Mills felt that she was being wronged for reasons Jessica never knew she moved the entire town and its inhabitants far from home, erasing their past memories and replacing them with false ones.

Regina was able to do this because she was able to wield dark magic. With the help of a powerful wizard know as The Dark One, Regina who-in what was now called Fairy Tale land-used to be Queen, wanted everything in her life to be perfect and perfect it was until the savior, Emma Swan came to Storybrooke.

She broke the curse that veiled everyone's memories. Dr. Hopper turned out to be Jiminy Cricket and Marco, the town handyman was really Mr. Gepetto. Her friends at school, like Nicholas and Ava were none other than Hansel and Gretel and even Jessica had a past of her own. Though, Jess preferred her false life even if the curse prevented anyone from changing or growing older.

With the curse broken, Jessica-along with everyone else in town-began to age. And, along with growing up came turning into an adult. Being an adult meant making life changing decisions.

Like the one that involved Storybrooke. If anyone under the effects of the curse were to leave their memories would revert back to what they werw before. Meaning if Nicholas left to go to a college or wanted to travel Europe it would cost him the memories of Fairy Tale land and any memories after the curse was broken.

Lost in her thoughts Jessica jumped in her seat when Ruby returned with a new soda on the house she had said with a wink, and dropped off a plate of a thick, juicy burger piled high with pickles, lettuce, and a tomato and french fries on the side. Jessica picked off the tomato and set it aside on a napkin. She reached for the ketchup bottle, hitting the bottom and watched it slowly plop onto the toasted bun. Smashing it all together Jessica opened her mouth wide when her mother rushed in with a wild look about her gray eyes.

She rushed past Ruby and a few tables to where she spotted Jessica sitting. her weathered face relaxed but her eyes were still wide even as she sat next to her daughter. Her peppered hair was pulled into a thick bun, untamed strands poked from the sides giving her the look of a mad woman.

"I was so worried when you didn't answer your phone," her mother cried.

Jessica ignored her and took a giant bite of her burger. Ketchup juices dribbled down her chin. She grabbed for a handful of napkins from the silver, fingerprint-smeared dispenser and wiped the mess before it dribbled onto her clothes . Her mother gave her once over and shook her head, pursing her lips tightly together so they made a straight, almost invisible line.

Good, thought Jess as she stuffed several fries into her mouth. She really wasn't in the mood to listen to her mother worry and nitpick. It didn't always be so bad until their memories returned six years ago. It wasn't a happy reunion for everyone, and for some like Jessica's mother, it only made things worse.


	2. Chapter Two: Game Night

**Chapter Two**

Game Night

"Thank you so much for doing this on such late notice," smiled Ashley Herman, opening the door to let Henry inside.

He noticed the heavy, dark bags under her eyes and hitched up his backpack with his thumb. "It really isn't a problem," he replied, smiling back. Besides, his mom would have killed him if he didn't since she and Ashley were friends. "I didn't have anything better to do."

Ashley feigned the appalled look on her face, gasping, "you mean to tell me a handsome sixteen-year-old with a brand new license has nothing better to do?" She slipped her cerulean jacket over her arms and pulled her straight blonde hair out of the collar. "I highly doubt that."

Henry grinned. "It's really okay," he assured her looking around the frazzled mess in the living room. The couch cushions were strewn across the floor and toys were littered all around them. "Where are the munchkins anyways?"

"Alexandra is in the kitchen finishing up her homework and Thomas and Samuel-" she was cut off by the sound of tiny giggles coming from underneath the couch cushions. Ashley smiled as she pinched the last button on her jacket. "They're around her somewhere."

Henry took one last glance at the squirming cushions before turning his attention back to Ashley. She grabbed her purse off the end table that was pushed up the wall next to the door and sighed. He offered her a sympathetic smile knowing how much she hated to leave her kids behind. Henry was sixteen and both Emma and Regina still acted that way.

"Sean will be home before bedtime and he'll pay you then." She reached for the door, pulling at the handle before her eyes suddenly lit up and she dug inside her purse handing Henry a twenty dollar bill. "For pizza," she explained when he hesitated to take it.

Ashley left in a whirlwind after that, leaving the door open for Henry to close. Click, the lock latched shut. Sighing, he turned around, nudging the straps to his backpack off and gently set it down beside the door. He scratched at his head, and frowned.

"I wonder where Tom and Sam are?" he loudly said; the giggles grew louder. "Hmm...I should probably sit down since I'm already so tired of standing." He stomped each foot on the floor, dramatically taking long strides.

Feigning a yawn, he stretched his arms above his head and looked down at the moving cushions. "Welp, here I go."

"Nooooo!" the twins shouted breaking free of their hiding spot. Pillows exploded around them revealing their similar mischievous grins stained with chocolate.

"That was fun," laughed Sam, falling back into the cushions. "Let's do it again!"

"Yeah!" agreed Tom running around the couch and jumping over the back. He slid down on his stomach and quickly scrambled to his feet so he stood up to Henry's chest on the empty couch. "Let's do it again!"

"I have a better idea!" Henry exclaimed just as Alexandra paraded out of the kitchen. To Henry's amusement she was wearing Snow White pajamas. "I brought a game to play."

"Oh," cried out Sam rushing to Henry's side while he walked to grab his backpack. "Is it for the playstation?"

"No, it's not for the playstation," he admonished. Henry knelt down onto the floor and unzipped his backpack. Behind his textbooks and random crinkled papers was the dented cover of the game board. He pulled it out listening to all the pieces slide to the bottom. "It's Candyland!"

Three sets of blue eyes stared at the faded smiling faces of gleeful characters living in a candy world. Henry didn't know what to expect but it sure wasn't three young children-one of which was picking his nose-looking at him with raised brows and pursed lips. He shook the game so that the pieces cluttered around for some sort of effect. He wasn't sure what he was going for but it didn't matter, the kids remained exactly the same.

"You see," he explained walking toward the living room and nodding that they follow, "it's about a King who was stolen and it's up to us to find and save him."

He started to pick up the couch cushions. Alexandra began to help and to his surprise even the twins attempted to pick them up. Unfortunately the cushions were about as big as them and they ended up knocking into things rather than assisting.

Once they were finished picking up Henry looked over the three of children deciding there was only one to get them excited. "Everything in it is made of candy!"

Alexandra's blue eyes opened wide and she turned toward her younger brothers. "Candy!"

Sam and Tom grinned up at her, talking rapidly until Sam asked, "can we eat the candy?"

"No."

"Well...can we have candy after?" asked Alex, batting her long eyelashes at him.

Henry wondered if that worked on her parents. "Probably not." They groaned. "We still get pizza!"

Their eyes lit up and he smiled in triumph. No one was unhappy when it came to pizza. Until Tom asked if you killed people in the game."No, you don't kill people."

What little enthusiasm was sparked instantly extinguished. "Come on, it'll be great fun," he mimicked his grandfather, accent and all.

"Can we watch Spongebob?" Alexandra asked, raising her hand. The twins both started to nod and smile in agreement.

Henry groaned, looking down at the distorted box in his hand. From what he remembered of Candyland there wasn't much to it. "Fine," he groaned flopping onto the couch. Oh well, Candyland was kind of lame anyway.

* * *

Jess skimmed through the pages of her history book that she was supposed to be reading. Her disinterest in school was growing worse with each passing year. The older she got the more she began to wonder what the point of it all was. They were all trapped in Storybrooke, nothing else really mattered.

A bird began to chirp outside. Jessica turned her gaze to the window. A small breeze playfully tugged at the red and orange leaves that dangled high above the ground. Perched near the window sill was a small bluebird. It puffed it chest and picked at each feather with its little beak. She started to smile when Mrs. Holland slammed her ruler hard against Jess's desk.

She jumped with a start, her fingers wrapped tightly around her yellow cardigan. A few students giggled but most of them were silent as they all turned to stare at her. Jessica felt her entire face begin to burn, her ears were on fire.

"Miss Baley is there any particular reason you are not paying attention?" She raised a penciled-brow and pursed her wrinkled lips firmly together. "Well...?"

"Sorry, I-"

"I don't care to hear any excuses, Jessica," she sternly replied.

"Then why ask?" She opened her eyes wide as she heard the words escape the jail of her teeth.

Everyone looked around at one another. A few of them laughed while others even made a low, "ooooh" in unison. Jessica wasn't sure if she should smile or start crying. So she kept her gaze on Mrs. Holland and hoped she didn't start yelling.

To her surprise, she didn't yell but Jessica was given lunch detention the following week. An entire week of detention meant that her mother would be told. The last thing she wanted to deal with was listening to her cry about how she failed as a parent.

She still had a few hours after school to work at Mr. Gold's Antique shop before she had to head home. Jess utilized that time to think of how she was going to explain to her mother that it was a slip of the tongue. Even then her mother would probably fall into hysterics but at least it wouldn't last long.

Jessica was so lost in thought that she didn't hear the jingle of the door open. She was busy organizing a shelf filled with porcelain dolls and cleaning the dirt from the lines of their faces. Digging her nails along the nose of one of the lifeless dolls she jumped at the sound of her name. The doll clattered to the floor. Jessica froze.

"Please don't be broken," she groaned bending at her knees and lifting the doll off the ground. She brushed back the silky, black curls and lightly dusted at her face with her fingers. Jess allowed herself to exhale when everything felt in one piece.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Jess set the doll down on the counter and looked up at Henry. He hitched the strap of his backpack with his thumb and offered a small smile. "Anyways," he said quickly looking away. He pulled his bag over to his side and started to dig inside, pulling out the worn and old Candyland.

Jessica took it from him, the pieces slid toward the back of the box. "Did they have fun?"

Henry chuckled. "Uh, yeah actually they liked it."

Jess looked down at the box in her hands. Faded smiling faces stared right back. Mr. Gold's words rang in the back of her head: this game is a classic, every child should play it.

"I've never played before," she found herself saying.

Henry raised his brows in surprise. "Really?"

Yeah, well, growing up in another dimension and then under a curse made it a little hard to enjoy tabletop board games. She smiled. "Guess it never interested me."

"Have you finished yet?" groaned another voice. Jess looked up in surprise to see that Henry wasn't alone.

Standing in a far off corner staring at a pile of rotten, old books was Killian Jones, or more colorfully known as Captain Hook. Killian was tall, and well-built with-surprise, surprise-a hook for his left hand. He was generically handsome with dark hair that tucked behind his ears and a smile underneath his five 'o clock shadow that Jess was certain had given women heart attacks.

She didn't know much about him other than he and Mr. Gold didn't care much for one another. And, he was dating the sheriff, maybe? Jessica scratched her head. She didn't remember and besides the affairs of others meant little to her.

Henry rolled his eyes and Jess offered a sympathetic smile as she quickly spun around to set the game board back on the shelf that Mr. Gold had taken it from. She slid the box neatly into place. Dust poofed around her and she coughed, waving the air with her hand. It sting at her eyes, blurring her sight momentarily. She felt her hand smack against the corner if the game, knocking it over onto the floor.

"Ohhhh," groaned Jess, throwing her head back in defeat. Today was just not her day. "Great."

She knelt down to pick up the pieces when Henry rushed behind the counter. He helped her pick up the four character pieces and the cards that had scattered every where. After a few minutes of scrambling around, Killian joined them grumbling to himself the entire time. Jess felt her face go red but she kept her focus on the strewn cards, avoiding accidentally brushing against someone's hand.

"Uh-oh."

Jess instantly straightened. "Uh-oh?" she repeated with a frown. "Why are you saying uh-oh."

Slowly, Henry stood up. In his hands he held the colorful board up for Jess to see. Water rolled along the folded creases and dripped onto the floor. Laying by Henry's feet was an open vile that she must had forgotten to put away the day before.

"No," she whispered taking the board from Henry's eyes. "Mr. Gold is going to kill me!"

Henry furrowed his dark brows. It was Hook who asked, "Over an old children's game?" He paused then let a small grimace flit across his face, his long lashes blinking, "never mind, that does sound about right."

Jess made a face when Emma Swan, the sheriff of Storybrooke and Henry's biological mother entered. She looked around the store, her blue-green eyes dilated as they started to adjust to the dim lighting. She tucked her long, wavy blonde hair behind her ear and pursed her lips together.

"If you tell me that the reason it took you guys so long to come out was because you were playing Candyland..."

"No, mom," rushed Henry. "I accidentally spilled something on it so I was just telling Jess that I would pay for it."

Jessica was taken aback. "I really don't think-"

He took the wet board from her and grinned. "It's okay. I broke it, I'll buy it." He looked down at the empty blue vile that laid near his foot. "I'll pay for whatever that was too."

Jess bent down and picked it up, setting it on the counter. She was just about to scan it when the door jingled and Mr. Gold entered the shop. He was whistling to himself, swimming his cane when he spotted Emma first, then Killian. Mr. Gold smiled like a snake would and began to unwrap his scarf from around his neck.

"And what can I do for you today, Miss Swan. It seems every time either of you are in here you have some sort of favor to..." his words were slow to trail off as his gaze flickered to the empty glass bottle that sat on the counter. He looked up at Henry, his eyes shifting back and forth. "Henry," he said very carefully taking a small step forward, "set the board down very, very gently..."

Henry dropped it onto the counter. It made a loud, wet splat. Mr. Gold cringed.

A blinding white light flashed from the middle of the the game's center. Jess jumped back, her heart pounded against her chest, drumming out the sound of Mr. Gold yelling at them to step away. The light grew brighter, and the sound of a tornado roared through the small shop.

Jessica's pale brown hair whipped around her face as she pressed her back against the wall. Henry was struggling to hold into the counter, his fingers gripped onto the edges; the tips of his nails began to turn red. Jess looked through the blinding light to see Killian trying to make his way to Emma when everything around them began to concave inside the portal.

Red and black vines climbed out from the center. They slithered along the glass counter top leaving sticky trails behind them. One of them slid up Henry's jeans, wrapping itself around his ankles. He cried out, kicking wildly as the vine began to drag him into the hole. Killian was quick to act, moving away from Henry and used the silver hook on his hand to cut at the vine. He held up the squirming piece with the tip of hook and curiously looked to Mr. Gold who shouted for Killian to look behind him.

It was too late. More red and black vines sprouted from the game, shooting high and fast into the ceiling. Jessica screamed and ducked down to cover herself from the falling debris. Through the swirling dust she could see the vines wrap around Killian's mouth and wrists. They pulled hard onto him, he fell to the floor flopping like a fish out of water on the floor. The vines dragged him up off the ground, holding him above the game board just long enough for his eyes to find Emma and then just in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Jessica wasn't sure what happened after. The vines roped around her ankles and wrists. She pushed and kicked against them but they tightened their hold with every move. A scream caught in her throat as the vines crawled up her face and wrapped around her mouth to keep her from crying. She could smell a strong sugary scent from the vines but it was short lived as she was dragged through the game just as Killian was.

Everything went bright. Then it was dark. The last thing Jessica remembered was hearing Emma scream for her son.


End file.
